2006年VOA标准英语-French Officials Say CAR Rebels Lose Last Town
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By Nico Colombant
Dakar
10 December 2006
French military officials are saying rebels in the Central African Republic have lost the last northern town they were holding, nearly two weeks into a counter-offensive. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar.
Central African Republic
French media quoted French military officials as saying the Central African Republic army was able to reclaim1 the northern town of Ouadda Djalle, without any rebel resistance.
Under the auspices2 of an agreement with the government in Bangui, the former colonial power France has been providing ground and air support, including the use of Mirage3 fighter jets, to push back the insurgency4.
Officials say it is unclear where the rebels went, or whether they are regrouping.
Rebels who have been reached previously5 by satellite phone were not immediately available.
They went on a new offensive, seizing northern towns since late October from areas near Sudan and Chad. The CAR rebels, known as the Union of Democratic Forces for Rally, say they want to impose a national dialogue, amid bad governance by former coup6 leader turned elected President Francois Bozize.
The government accuses the rebels of being backed by Sudan, amid alleged7 efforts to start a regional war. Sudan denies this.
An analyst8 with the London-based Control Risks group, Chris Melville, says whatever Sudan's role has been, France has been a key player in recent developments.
"Rebel forces have reported that French forces have fired on their positions without provocation," said Melville. "There also seems to be some sort of leakage9 of information from the French government itself, which, accidentally, we think, admitted to the presence of special operation units."
Another CAR analyst, Paul Melly, says he does not believe the Bozize government is at risk. But he says the interior of the country is prone10 to such insurgencies and widespread banditry.
"Even if the population is broadly accepting of the government, and I think we can say it is, the state does not have the means to deliver the stability," noted11 Melly. "It is not so much a failed state, as almost an absent state in large parts of the country."
The poorly trained and equipped CAR army is also being backed by a military force deployed12 by the Central African Economic and Monetary13 Union.
